Pearls:

Pearls are wild treasures, which you

can spend to control a Privateer, or for the
effects of Guns, Rum, or Sails. Spending
Pearls means putting them back into the
Treasure Box.
Controlling Privateers: If you did not roll
doubles, you can spend a Pearl to control
one Privateer.
Using Pearls as Guns: After making the
attack roll, but before the defender rolls,
you may spend Pearls to add +1 (for each)
to your attack value.
Using Pearls as Rum: After making the
defense roll, you may spend Pearls to add
+1 (for each) to your defense value.
However, you may only do this if it makes the
attack fail; you cant just throw Pearls away
to keep them from being stolen.
Using Pearls as Sails: While taking your
move, you may spend Pearls to add +1 (for
each) to your movement points.
Winning:
The first player to reach the target
score wins the game. This score varies
with the number of players:
Players:
2
3
4
5
6 or more

Target Score:
30 Points
20 Points
15 Points
12 Points
10 Points

Captain Treasure Boots

Designed by James Ernest, cover art by Phil
Foglio. Originally released as SWAG, a free
game about getting free stuff. Tested by the
usual crew of fearless guinea pigs over several
grueling months at sea. 2005, 2013 Cheapass
Games, Seattle, WA. www.cheapass.com.
If you enjoy this game, try our other games. We
make lots of them. Some are free, some are
fancy, and some sail the stormy waters between
Cheapland and Awesometown.

Captain Treasure Boots

Treasure Token List

Sails (Green, 18): +1 to Movement.

Guns (Red, 16): +1 to Attack Roll.
Rum (Blue, 12): +1 to Defense Roll.
Gold (Yellow, 14):
Defenders option on looting.
Pearls (White, 12):
Spend for the effects of Guns,
Rum, or Sails, or to control a
Privateer.
Privateers (Black, 12)
Act as enemy ships.
Score a point for gaining treasure.
Become Black Pearls when sunk.

Handy Movement Chart

Wind

It is the golden age of Piracy, and

you are a Pirate. Good timing!
The Caribbean is a virgin wonderland, populated with ten thousand
gold-stuffed treasure chests just waiting to be plucked from the ground.
Dozens of pirates, privateers, and
foul-mouthed scalawags sail the
stormy seas in search of adventure,
treasure, and rum. Mostly rum.
The most brilliant and notorious of
these pirates is Captain Treasure
Boots, who is secretly one of you.

1*

Specifically, the one who captures

the treasure before everyone else.

So set the turling and make fast the

grot line! Hoist the Maiden Graves
and let fly the moistling jacksall!

At the start of each turn, move the

wind marker clockwise 90 by the difference between the dice.
You have 3 Movement points, +1 for
each Sail you hold.
You cant move directly into the
wind.
Moving diagonally into the wind
costs 2 points.
All other directions cost 1 point.
*You get one free drift downwind.

Or something to that effect.

Arr, Matey. This Game Comes With:

4 board sections
84 Treasure Tokens (Gold, Rum, etc.)
One Wind Marker, and
Eight player ships (also hex tokens).
Ye Also be Needin:
Two 6-sided dice, and
A way to keep score.
Note: The ship tokens are not that great,
so you might want to upgrade the ships to
pawns, or maybe even those delightful little
plastic ships from Pirates of the Spanish
Main (from Wizkids, also by James Ernest).
Setup:
First, set up a number of boards based
on the number of players:
Players
2 or 3
4
5 or 6

Boards
2
3
4

Arrange the boards any way you like,

as long as they conform to the same grid.
The edges do not have to touch.
All table space outside the boards is
presumed to be open water, containing
the same grid as the boards.

Example Board Layouts

The Treasure Tokens:

Use the game box to hold the treasure
tokens. Start with all the tokens in the
box, except for the player ships and the
Wind marker.
When you need to draw tokens, close
your eyes and take them randomly from
the box. Whenever a token leaves play, it
goes back into the box.
The types of treasure token are Pearls
(white); Gold (yellow); Rum (blue); Guns
(red); and Sails (green). There are also
black tokens, which are Privateers on one
side, and Black Pearls on the other.
Each Treasure gives your ship different
abilities, so it helps to collect them all. It
is also worth extra points when you cash
in several colors at once.
Getting Started:
To begin, each player places his ship on
a Port of his choice. Ports are the islands
with no numbers, just names. Ports are the
only spaces that can hold more than one ship.
If it matters, you can make everyone
decide in secret where to begin. But really,
it doesnt matter.
Place the Wind marker at the north
edge of the board, pointing north. If you
dont know which direction is north, or
you cant fake it handsomely, then you are
a terrible pirate.
Determine randomly who will go first.
Play proceeds to the left.
Rolling the Dice:
Begin each turn by rolling two dice.
This will affect the Wind and the Treasure.
If you roll doubles, you also get to control
a Privateer.
Change The Wind: Wind is always
either north, south, east, or west. Using
the difference between the two dice, move
the Wind marker 90 clockwise this many
times. For example, if the dice are 1 and 4,
the wind moves 3 steps clockwise.
If the dice are equal, or if the difference
is 4, the wind does not move.

Add Treasure: Add the dice together,

and look for all the empty islands marked
with that number. Draw tokens from the
box and place one token on each empty
island with that number.
An island does not get a new token if it
is already occupied, either by a ship or by
another token.
If the treasure you draw is black, place
it with the Privateer side up.
Rolling Doubles:If you roll doubles,
you will get to control one Privateer, if
there are any in play (see below.)
Taking Your Turn:
Once you have checked the wind and
placed treasure, your turn begins.
Your turn has three steps. In Step 1,
you may choose to command a Privateer.
You can do this by spending a Pearl (if you
have one), or for free if you rolled doubles
at the start of your turn.
In Step 2, you can move your ship.
In Step 3, you can pick up treasure (at
an island with treasure), unload treasure
(at a Port), or shoot (in open water).

Step 1, Controlling a Privateer:

If there are Privateers in play, you can
control one of them by spending a Pearl,
or for free if you rolled doubles at the start
of the turn.
Privateers can move, shoot, and collect
treasure, but they cant unload.
You score one point immediately when
your Privateer gets treasure. This includes
treasure gained from combat, as well as
from islands.
Stack a Privateers cargo below the
Privateer token. A Privateers cargo affects
his abilities just like a player ship.

Step 2, Move:
You normally have 3 movement points.
If you have Sails, you get +1 movement
point for every Sail.
Moving has variable cost with respect
to the wind, as shown below. Moving
directly against the wind is impossible.
Moving diagonally into the wind costs 2
points per space. All other directions cost
1 point per space, but (*) you also get to
take one free drift directly downwind.

Wind

1*
2

Obstacles: You can move through

other ships, but you can not stop on them.
You cannot move through islands. You
can move into an island space, or out of it,
but not through it one move.
Leaving the Board: The same grid
extends forever outside the boards.
Step 3, Collect / Unload / Shoot:
What you can do in step 3 will depend
on where you stop.
Collecting: If you stop on an island
space that has a Treasure token, you may
take that token.
Keep all your Treasure in view on the
table in front of you.
Unloading: If you are in a Port space,
you may unload some or all of your cargo
and score points.
When you unload, you score one point
for each treasure. You also score a bonus
for having multiple colors, as shown in the
table at right.
Note: Pearls (white or black) do not have
a color, and are always worth just one point
each.

Shooting: If you are in open sea, you

may shoot at another ship. You can shoot
at Privateers or other players.
Ships at islands can be fired upon. This
includes ships that are in Port.
You must shoot along a straight line,
orthogonal or diagonal, through open sea.
You can not shoot through islands or
through other ships.
To take the shot, roll a die. If you have
Guns, add +1 for each Gun. Then, subtract
the number of empty spaces between you
and your target, if there are any. The
result is your attack value.
Next, your target rolls one die to
defend, adding +1 for each of his Rum
tokens. This is his defense value.
If the attack is equal to or greater than
the defense, the shot succeeds. Otherwise,
the shot fails and there is no effect.
Results of Hitting: If your attack
succeeds, you get to steal one treasure from
the defender.
Normally, the loot is chosen by the
attacker. However, if the defender has any
Gold, the defender may choose which piece
to lose.
If the defender loses his last treasure
(or has no treasure to lose) the ship sinks.
When your ship sinks, you jump to a
Port of your choice. You will begin your
next turn with a fresh but empty ship.
When you shoot at a Privateer, you
choose another player to roll its die. That
player can also make decisions about loot,
Pearls, and so forth, on the Privateers
behalf.
If you sink a Privateer, you collect the
Privateer token, which becomes a black
Pearl.
Color Bonuses:
If You Unload:
1 Color
2 Colors
3 Colors
4 Colors

Your Bonus is:

0 Points
1 Point
2 Points
4 Points